A magazine article told about a woman in rural Florida who was recovering from a lengthy illness. She enjoyed sitting on her front porch in her1and, on this day, she watched her son 2his car. He raised it on blocks of wood, removed the tires and3on his back underneath the vehicle.

    4there was a loud crack and the car lurched (突然向一侧倾斜)to one side, pinning the young man underneath. She5for her husband who ran to assist, but he couldn't 6the car or the young man. He climbed into his own vehicle and sped away for7 .

    The mother, who hadn't8in months, realized that her son's groans(呻吟声) were growing9and she knew that it would be up to her to10the boy. She rose to her feet and walked on11legs to the car. Supporting herself, she12the car. The car rose a few inches — just enough to let the boy get13. Then she collapsed.

    After a thorough 14, she was found only to have suffered strained muscles. And the15doctor's words were most telling: "I will always wonder," he said, "how far she might have lifted that car if she had been16and strong."

    We've read similar stories about persons exhibiting almost super-human17in times of crises. This mother, and others like her, found the strength they needed to18the crisis at hand.

And so it is with all of us. When life19us down and it seems impossible to get back up, we need to find a way to do what needs to be done. We are 20than we think.

    When Glen Kruger picked a small cat from an animal shelter, he did not expect much.  Yet right from the start, eight years ago, there was an uncommon connection between him and the small black cat.  He 1 her Inky.

     “ I grew up on a hundred-acre farm and had only cats 2  playmates ,” Kruger,

The seventy-year-old man , says. “My hearing was damaged by the 3of farm equipment , so I learned to connect with4.  They react to what they see and what you do.  ”

    Inky was a gentle cat, 5 the house with five other cats.  But on a January night in 2009,  Inky did6 that would set her apart from7 cats forever.

    Kruger had gone down to the basement to8 the wood stove for the night.  When he was finished, he 9 to the top of the stairs and reached to  turn off the lights. In doing so , he slipped and 10  his back against an old shelf.  The heavy shelf came crashing down and sent Kruger down the stairs.

    11 in a pool of blood on the basement floor, Kruger felt  12 going into shock（休克）.  He shouted for help , 13   his wife, Brenda , was asleep in their      

bedroom at   the opposite end of the house.  14  Kruger noticed Inky watching from the top of the stairs.

    “Go get Brenda, ” Kruger said to Inky.

    Inky 15  to the bedroom door and scratched 16  until Brenda opened it.  Then Inky led her to  the  17 Brenda found her husband 18  the stairs and called 911.  Kruger was rushed to the hospital. “I spent six months19  therd,”

    Says Kruger .  “Although I became lame , I was blessed. ” Since the accident, Inky has 20

    Left Kruger's side.

    I think I will never forget the special day in November. It was hotter than normal. This was the 1 my father and I had waited so long for, because we had been working towards this race for three years. Dozens of familiar faces from church and school flashed across my view. They had come 2 me. I saw worry and 3 on my father's face. Then the race began!

    For the first two and a half miles, I felt 4. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with controlled 5 and a strict diet. My friends hadn't seen me in weeks, but they understood the 6required to make my dream a reality. As in all of my races，I didn't 7 out in the front. I loved the pleasure of passing people as my strength overtook their premature speed.

    Then without warning，my strength began to decrease. Neck and neck with one of my greatest competitors, I 8 see the finish line. I had begun the final dash into 9 when my knees became weak and my legs gave way. Nothing I could do would make them 10 weight.

    I watched as runners rushed by me. 11 I knew my dreams of victory were destroyed, I had to finish the race. However, my legs hurt badly. With all of the 12 left in me, I got on my hands and knees and crawled (爬), inch by inch, across the finish line. Voices, both 13 and familiar, cheered me on. They gave me the courage to keep 14 until the very end.

    The doctors were there in seconds, but my eyes searched the crowd for him. There was only one person I wanted to 15 to. I whispered, “I' m so sorry, Dad, I'm so sorry I 16 you.” He looked at me, saying, “You could never disappoint me. Sometimes these things just 17. All that matters is that you did your best.”

    “But we worked so 18. What about our dream?” He reached over for my hand and said, “Don't you know that you are my dream and it has come true?”

    It wasn't long before my running shoes were back on, marking a 19 path for my journey. I learned that all of the miles, the tears, the sweat, and the pain my dad and I experienced together were not for a 20. What I realized, though, was that to him, I was the greatest prize he had ever won.

    I'd been proud that I'd never lost my cellphone until my husband Jack got a call one evening.

    We went to visit a friend in hospital last year. When Jack's 1 rang, it was my mother calling from my 2. She asked if I had 3 my mobile. I checked (检查) my purse. It was 4!

I used Jack's phone to call my number. Then a boy, whom I'll call Rhys, 5 it. "I have found your phone!" he said, excitedly. "I have been trying to find you, but 6 it was getting late, I decided to leave." He gave me the address of a 7 near his home.

    Later that evening, I went to 8 him there. I didn't dare to go 9, worrying this was some cheater (骗子). So Jack came along. After 10 10 km, we got to the coffee shop which Rhys 11.

My 12 were gone. Rhys was just a young boy. "How did you 13 my mum? " I asked. He 14 that when he found my mobile by roadside(路边), he started calling people in my list of contacts (联系人). But all they 15 was my mobile phone number——which didn't 16. He'd called many names, starting with the letter A. Finally he got Adam, one of my friends, who 17 my house.

    I was 18 to get my phone back with all the contacts, messages and photos I could have lost forever. I was so 19 to Rhys and offered (提供) him some money, but he 20.

    As we drove back, we praised Rhys for his honesty.

The True Story of Treasure Island

    It was always thought that Treasure Island was the product of Robert Louis Stevenson's imagination. 1 recent research has found the true story of this exciting work.

    Stevenson, a Scotsman, had lived 2 for many years. In 1881 he returned to Scotland for a 3. With him were his American wife Fanny and his son 4.

    Each morning Stevenson would take them out for a long 5 over the hills. They had been 6 this for several days before the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse. Kept indoors by the heavy rain, Lloyd felt the days 7.To keep the boy happy, Robert asked the boy to do some 8.

    One morning, the boy came to Robert with a beautiful map of an island, Robert 9that the boy had drawn a large cross in the middle of 10. "What's that?" he asked. "That's the 11 treasure," said the boy. Robert suddenly 12 something of an adventure story in the boy's 13. While the rain was pouring, Robert sat down by the fire to write a story. He would make the 14 a twelve-year-old boy, just like Lloyd. But who would be the pirate (海盗)？

    Robert had a good friend named Henley, who walked around with the 15 of a wooden leg. Robert had always wanted to 16 such a man in a story. 17 Long John Silver, the pirate with a wooden leg, was 18.

    So, thanks to a 19 September in Scotland, a friend with a wooden leg, and the imagination of a twelve-year-old boy, we have one of the greatest 20 stories in the English language.

    Sometimes the best gifts are the smallest ones that add up into something big over time.

    Lily saw her grandfather, who has Parkinson's disease, was struggling to1his cup without spilling (溢出) and started2a picture for a cup that has three legs. Her father also3to spill drinks on his keyboard,4Lily realized that this invention was for everybody and for all kinds of uses. She drew a sketch and finally created a5for her grandfather at her grandfather's house with6materials: a plastic cup and plastic.

    Soon her aunt took her to a pottery (陶瓷) studio, where she was able to7a cup for her father, who found the cup very8. He suggested that she start9her cups. At that time, being only nine years old, Lily didn't know10what her father had meant11taking the cups into production. But she was12and willing to give the idea a try.

    Later, Lily's father took her to visit the13of pottery, Jingdezhen, China, to start creating more cups, and they started a movement to help14the project. And as Imagiroo was set up and started attracting more15, Lily needed to find a company in America to help her produce her cups,16 was one of her company's biggest17. But six years after Imagiroo was18, her company is successful. Certainly Lily's father is a big part of their business.

    It can start with something19, like Lily's first drawing of her cup, and become something bigger along the way with hard work and determination. It may be one small thing to you, but to someone else it can make a big20 .